World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 176 Beware of Mosquitoes
Three people were already standing in the cabin early on: the captain, first mate, and second mate. Seven or eight sailors were busy on the deck, and everything seemed perfectly normal.

The giant ship came from Canada and belonged to a coal transport company. Officials and the captain discussed official documents, showing them to the St. Anilov Foundation without any hesitation. The latter were not civil servants and could only give perfunctory "uh-huhs".

Seeing that the foundation was still not convinced, the captain called all the crew members and had them line up in a row, take out their passports one by one, and record them accordingly.

Work was forced to stop, and the sailors who were to be audited lined up, complaining incessantly with their Juaar accents and swearing, their bodies radiating a restless heat that filled the entire cabin.

"Ostie qu'il m'énerve! AH, Tabarnack! (Damn it, annoying!)"

No matter how you look at it, this is a legal and compliant cargo ship.

The key point is that, not to mention the witch, there are more than two hundred people on the giant ship, all of whom are full of male hormones and none of them are without a penis.

Lin An glanced around, and as he boarded the ship, the mysterious figures had already squeezed into the narrow cargo holds in various locations.

The giant ship had several cargo holds. The main space carried coal, which was recorded in official documents. The other spaces were scattered, and it was unknown what they contained.

The authorities are unsure whether the giant ship is hiding mysterious individuals, but they know these people are definitely not followers of the "Witch," and the company behind them can bring unimaginable profits to the port authority, which is enough.

Lin An had no interest in these struggles. He turned the Philosopher's Stone and released a mental image, which sank into the deck and floated toward the nearest hidden cargo hold.

Conservatively speaking, at least... is hidden there.

Before Lin An could count the light spots, they suddenly split apart, with hundreds and thousands of tiny light spots flying around like chaotic comets, instantly disrupting the information obtained from the empty mode.

How?

Lin An wasn't quite sure what had happened in the cargo hold below, but he had already given instructions to the mental portrait.

"System, use the [Motherly Sorrow] from Ashes of the Saints II: Yemaia."

This is the cry of the sea goddess Yemaia; it can create a shrill and piercing scream that echoes like drumbeats.

The only drawback is that, in addition to consuming a medium, this mystical art must be performed using a spiritual image as a medium.

The spiritual portrait in Lin An's hands was already like a candle flickering in the wind, almost dissipating. It needed a blood sacrifice to maintain its aura, but Lin An tried several times, and the portrait was unyielding and very difficult to deal with.

It does not accept animal blood, hospital blood bags, or male blood; it must specify fresh blood from the back of a woman's neck or wrist, and the person should ideally be between 15 and 35 years old.

This is too much trouble for someone like Lin An who feeds fish, turtles, and shrimp at the same time with turtle food.

Coincidentally, another mystical spell in "Ashes of the Saints II: Yemaia" can transform the undead into spiritual portraits. Lin An decided to discard the old spiritual portrait at this moment and use the mystical spell to replace it with a new one.

The portrait descended into the cabin where the mysterious figure was located. A scream pierced the sky, and spiritual energy exploded like fireworks. Its form also dissipated abruptly with the sound waves.

"Ahhhh——!"

The screams, like a sharp knife, filled with endless pain and resentment, pierced the pretense of peace in the cabin. A chilling cold rose from everyone's heart, bringing an overwhelming sense of sorrow.

Those most severely affected were Mishi and a woman from the disciplinary squad. Their eyes widened instantly, and large tears streamed down their faces, turning into heart-wrenching sobs three seconds later.

"What, what's going on?"

Inside the ship's cabin, not only the foundation and officials, but even the captain and first mate were caught off guard by how things unfolded.

Sorry, [Mother of Desire] is an area-of-effect (AoE) attack skill.

Lin An patted Mi Xi on the shoulder, who had been accidentally injured, and broke the silence first.

"The sound is coming from below!"

"Despite the piercing screams, there was no tremor inside the cabin." The captain of the disciplinary squad frowned. "This strange phenomenon is unique to 'Comers' energy."

“There’s probably a mysterious figure lurking below!” another member of the disciplinary squad declared definitively. “Captain, can you lead the way?”

"This……"

Before the captain could say anything more, Simon suddenly raised his hand, and the bright moonlight transformed into an exquisitely crafted crossbow. Flames conjured up purple-blue arrows, which he then aimed at and released with a "whoosh."

"Boom!"

The arrow shot through the air, stirring up the steel and cables inside the giant ship, and forcefully blasted open a passage.

The Foundation members could clearly see the trajectory of the energy and knew that Simon was behind it. However, the officials, the captain, and the sailors were completely unaware of this. They only saw an explosion in the cabin and thought someone had targeted the giant ship with a missile, which terrified them.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

The "maternal sorrow" was still in effect. Before the Foundation members could explain, their rationality collapsed, their bodies became uncontrollably wet, and a foul stench spread.

The elite class's composure vanished, and the officials scattered in all directions, shouting "Help!" as if death was about to befall them, leaving behind only a mess in the cabin.

Lin An never expected that the captain, who was always law-abiding, would ignore the complicated negotiations and directly overturn the negotiating table, putting on a "I'm going to investigate you today" attitude.

But upon closer reflection, the captain isn't a rigid person at heart.

During the transport of the Thunderbird, this thing was driving at a speed that could have been seen on the set of Initial D.

It was only because he seemed to have been caught red-handed by the Foundation, and he was deliberately restraining the degree of corruption of the "Lord of Dreams," that Lin An had a calm and composed illusion.

“Simon, calm down! The foundation will continue to cooperate with these people in the future!” Barry said from the side.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Simon put away his crossbow, his tone cold and suppressed. "That scream was a wide-range arcane spell. They'll only get in the way if they stay."

"Captain Simon, do you believe there is a free spirit or mysterious figure there?"

The captain of the disciplinary squad pointed to the area that had been blasted open. A cold, damp wind blew through the hole, and a half-finished staircase meandered down into the darkness where there was no light.

“To be honest, I have a vague recollection of this ship…” Simon didn’t explain, but spread his wings and flew toward the stairs. “No, I should say, I know it like the back of my hand.”

The foundation members looked at each other in bewilderment, and Lin An was the first to shout.

"I believe in the captain!"

After saying that, he followed Simon downstairs.

Lin An had originally discovered that there were about a dozen mysterious individuals on the giant ship, which was a normal number for a member of the Doris family.

But the instant he released the spiritual portrait, the dozen or so mysterious figures suddenly dispersed into thousands of points of light.

It's unlikely that there are 1000 Mystics—if Doris really had such an army, her previous secrecy wouldn't make sense.

Therefore, Lin An believed that the scattered light spots were a kind of mysterious magic.

In any case, the chaotic display disrupted Lin An's relaxation mode. After much thought, he decided to use a long-lost "listening to invisible breathing" to further verify his ideas.

“You have 24 mysterious people around you.”

The system's calm announcement rang out.

"By using mystical arts, the radiation value of the [Mystic Encyclopedia] has increased by 0.2%."

Subtracting the Foundation's eight members, the giant ship has a total of 16 mysterious individuals, roughly the same number as previously detected in a hasty investigation.

Those scattered points of light were probably a person's mystical magic. Seeing Lin An's actions, the others reacted, and the captain of the disciplinary team said something like, "I will report your behavior truthfully," and decided to explore with Simon as well.

After calming down the emotionally distraught female team member, they spent some time regrouping. When they met up again, Simon had already led Lin An to the cargo hold where the sound had come from.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

Simon took a deep breath, gripped the longsword, and slashed fiercely at the tightly closed metal door.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang and dust flying everywhere, Lin An heard a dense, strange, and maddening buzzing sound approaching from all directions, with no clear source.

Everyone gasped in shock. Even Lin An had never seen anything like this before, and his pupils contracted involuntarily.

What flew out of the cargo hold was a swarm of huge mosquitoes, conservatively estimated to be over a thousand, their countless long legs forming a net, fearlessly swarming towards the group.

"Buzzing...buzzing...buzzing!"

The voice was thin and shrill, haunting and unsettling; just a few seconds of listening to it made one feel as if they had thorns in their back.

The people in the foundation let out groans that were half-laughing and half-screaming. Hundreds of mouthparts immediately pierced the exposed skin of each person, and countless lumps bulged up. A numb and itchy feeling flowed through every inch of their skin, and their exposed faces swelled up like pig heads.

I go!

There are so many black mosquitoes!

Lin An immediately realized the abnormality of the empty mode; it seemed that each mosquito had become a separate "point of light," disrupting his perception.

Is there such a mystery?

Similar to a clone... or a summon?
"Search... never mind, stop searching, use [The Discipline of Mount Sinai]! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

These mosquitoes are visually striking but not particularly powerful. They rely on trace amounts of toxins in their bodies to accumulate and eventually kill a mysterious individual.

Even though the foundation members have been bitten hundreds of times, they show no signs of weakness or impending death.

But Lin An didn't want to be bitten by mosquitoes, not even once!

Mythical magic transformed into commandments that surrounded him, Hebrew script marked out the protective soil, which was enveloped in golden, holy light. Mosquitoes that entered it died instantly, their bodies falling to the ground and turning into a tiny speck of energy that slowly dissipated.

Guy Agnimo never imagined that his mystery would one day be used as a mosquito killer.

After the initial shock, everyone began to activate their energy to kill the mosquitoes.

Mishi hooked her toes, drawing a fairy ring that caused the mosquitoes to collide with each other, spinning around in a dizzying frenzy; Barry clenched his fist tightly, a layer of thick hair replacing his smooth skin, and the mosquitoes' proboscis was stuck on it, making it impossible for them to move.

As for Simon, he was protected by angelic physique, and the mosquitoes all avoided him.

The mysterious figure successfully launched the attack and immediately manipulated the mosquitoes to scatter. The group was unable to kill all the mosquitoes and could only watch them buzz away and hide in the corners of the giant ship.

"It's so itchy...it's killing me with itchiness!"

After defeating the mysterious figure, only one feeling remained in everyone's mind.

itch!
I'm so itchy, it's driving me crazy!
As the team's "healer," Lin An picked up the Philosopher's Stone, which had transformed back into a magic wand. Green energy emanated from it, soothing the red and swollen mosquito bites on her teammates' bodies.

As a mystic, physical injuries can be easily healed, but mental wounds are difficult to soothe.

According to the data provided by the system, about 5 people's pollution levels increased by 1-3% after being bitten by mosquitoes. The most pitiful one was Mishi, whose pollution level was pushed below the 10% threshold by mosquito bites.

There's such a tactic...

Lin An recalled his confrontation with Madam Ava. Some low-level mystics, unable to harm high-level mystics, would make full use of their abilities to try to stimulate the other party's corruption value.

For example, if Lin An himself kills more than three people using the "Hittite Ritual" from the core of the Magic Encyclopedia, he will attract a "Judge" and be subject to a 3% increase in contamination.

If it weren't for the increase in optional items, Lin An might have been overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

"Roar……"

Before the foundation members could breathe a sigh of relief, a low, beastly panting came from below.

In the darkness of the cargo hold, five pairs of eerie green eyes gleamed. They closed in and pounced on Simon and the leader of the disciplinary squad at the front.

"Ouch——!"

With the help of the angel's light, Lin An, who was assisting from behind, was able to make out the outline of the dark figure.

They were five large, snow-white giant animals with heads somewhat resembling brown bears and bodies clearly belonging to the canine family. Their sharp teeth gleamed white, making no attempt to conceal their bloodthirsty desires.

…………

“These people are crazy!”

Officials scrambled out of the cabins, while the sailors ran toward the bridge in the chaos, parting ways with them.

The inexplicable grief and sadness faded, replaced by the fear of losing their jobs, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in their hearts.

"I never imagined that Mr. Bennett really had connections with the recent superpowered individuals..."

"Replacing mercenaries with superpowered mercenaries is just the same thing; they're all Bennett's henchmen, no difference. The problem is that the newly appointed Washington faction and parliament are clearly implementing policies that favor..."

"We can't control the St. Anilof Foundation, and Boss Bennett is also a rule-breaker! He repeatedly confirmed with us that the hull should be light yellow, but in the end, he chose this pitch-black ship!"

"Speaking of which, isn't this ship a bit too dark?"

They looked down at the deck, which seemed to be soaked in ink and had no reflection at all. When they looked up again, a man with his hands behind his back was standing in front of them.

"President Avia Emmanuel?" an official asked in confusion. "How did you get up here?...Where were you just now?"

"I was slapped unconscious and just woke up." The man yawned. He was clearly a middle-aged man around fifty years old, but his posture revealed an extremely contradictory childlike behavior. "I didn't want to listen to you, but you disturbed my show."

"To watch...to watch a play?"

What nonsense is the president of the St. Anilov Foundation spouting?
The next moment, the man suddenly turned hostile, creating a gust of wind that blew them off the ship.

"Go kiss Hela's ass!"

Before they could even react, the world spun around them. The officials struggled and thrashed in the icy river, shouting for help, but no one on the bank even glanced at them. And no matter how they swam, they seemed to be stuck in the same place.

The man spread his hands to the people waiting on the shore, effortlessly persuading them to leave by car.

With one last glance, the official saw the man turn around and mischievously squint his eyes.

A dizzying purple flashed and disappeared.

Thank you to SunsetAA, Book Friend 20220528132552420, Typhoid Fever, icepro, and Book Friend 20210131183903461 for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for the recommendation tickets and subscriptions.

I was recently sent on a business trip by my boss (Ｔ▽Ｔ) so updates have been a bit slow, I'm very sorry.
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(End of this chapter)